Hospitalization of Infants, Children Aged 0 to 4 Up During Omicron

US infants and children aged 0 to 4 years were hospitalized at a much higher rate during omicron variant predominance than during delta variant predominance, according to research published in the March 15 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Researchers found that the weekly COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates per 100,000 children aged 0 to 4 years peaked at 14.5 during the period of omicron predominance - Dec. 19, 2021, to Feb. 19, 2022; peak at week ending Jan. 8, 2022. Sixty-three percent of the hospitalized infants and children had no underlying medical conditions during the period of omicron predominance.